TALKING POINTS ON THE REAGAN RECORD JUNE 1983

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85M00364R001803590031-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 28
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 14, 2008
• Sequence Number: 31
• Publication Date: June 1, 1983
• Content Type: REPORT

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THE WHITE HOUSE
0AB ~ AFFAIRS STAG MEMORANDUM
DATE: July 6, 1983 NUMBER: 0 7 3 4 6 3 CA DUE BY:
SUBJECT: Talking Points on the Reagan Record
ALL CABINET MEMBERS
Vice President
State
Treasury
Defense
Attorney General
Interior
Agriculture
Commerce
Labor
HHS
HUD
Transportation
Energy
Education
Counsellor
OMB
CIA
UN
USTR
Craig L. Fuller
Assistant to the President
for Cabinet Affairs
456-2823
CCEA/Porrr
CEA
CEQ
OSTP
REMARKS:
ACTION FYI
Baker ^ ^
Deaver ^ ^
Clark ^ ^
Darman (For WH Staffing) ^ ^
Harper ^ ^
Jenkins ^ ^
99s.
Carleson
PtUhlmann
CCMA/Bledsoe
CCNRE/Boggs
^ ^
^ ^
^ ^
^ ^
^ ^
The attached is forwarded for your information.
^ Becky Norton Dunlop
Director, Office of
Cabinet Affairs
456-2800
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WHITE HOUSE TALKING POINTS
Talking Points on the
Reagan Record
June 1983
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President Reagan has been in office little more than two
years. His economic program and first budget took effect only
twenty-one months ago.
Has it made a difference? What perceptible changes for
the better have taken place since January 20, 1981?
The few pages that follow offer some answers to these
questions, some rebuttals to the charges of unfairness -- which
are themselves unfair -- and some sense of how the lot. of
average Americans is getting better as recovery accelerates.
Also covered are other domestic policies and proposals of the
Reagan Administration on which spokesmen may anticipate getting
questions from a general audience.
The information in these pages is intended for Administra-
tion spokesmen. We hope they find it useful.
Prepared by
the White House Office of Public Affairs
June 1983
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THE REAGAN RECORD: TWO YEARS OF PROGRESS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Typical Family (How's it doing?) .................. 1
Taxes and Fairness .................................... 2
Inflation, Interest Rates and Economic Growth ......... 3
Budget Fairness (Unfairness charges are unfair) ....... 5
Food Stamps and Other Nutrition Programs .............. 7
Welfare -- Reagan Reforms Are Working ................. 8
The Safety Net ........................................ 9
Jobs and Unemployment ................................. 10
Farmers ............................................... 11
Older Americans ...................................... 12
Women And The Reagan Administration ................... 14
Children .......................... .... 15
Civil Rights .......................................... 16
Crime ................................................. 17
Education ............................................. 18
Energy ................................................ 19
Environment ............................. ..........:... 20
Health Care ........................................... 22
Then And Now: 1980 versus the present ................. 23
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THE TYPICAL FAMILY
(How's it doing?
Ivey points:
* Lower taxes, lower inflation have made American families better
off -- over $3000 better off for a typical (median income)
family.
* Lower mortgage rates make home-ownership a possible dream again
for 11 million families who couldn't afford it 2 years ago.
Background
o Lower inflation has made a typical family's income of $29,300
worth about $2500 more than if inflation were still at the 1980
rate. ($29,300 is 1983 median income for family of four.)
o Lower tax rates mean that family will pay $700 less in federal
income taxes for 1983 than if 1980 tax rates were still in
effect. (Despite a typical income increase of $3052 for such a
family, it actually will pay $44 less for 1983 than for 1981.)
o Together, lower taxes and inflation mean the family has about
$3200 more in purchasing power than it would have had.
o The same holds true at other income levels -- much higher pur-
chasing power due to much lower inflation and lower tax rates.
Home-ownership more affordable for more families.
o The monthly payment on a $50,000 mortgage has dropped over $200
in the last 20 months or so as interest rates have fallen.
o An $80,000 30-year mortgage now costs over $350 a month less.
o FHA/VA loan rates dropped the second week of May to 11.5 per-
cent -- the lowest since August, 1980 when mortgage rates were
going up.
o Conventional mortgages also at lowest rates in almost 3. years.
o Statisticians say the lower rates -- down about 6 points the
last year and a half -- have put home-ownership in reach for
about 11 million families who couldn't afford it 2 years ago.
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TAXES AND FAIRNESS
o The tax cuts are fair, lowering tax rates for every taxpayer
and income category.
o The whole purpose of the President's tax cuts is to allow
people to keep more of what they earn -- creating incentives
d invest
v
.
e an
for them to work 'harder to earn more and to sa
That's just what happened. A family of four with a $20,000
income in 1981 actually paid $26 less in federal income taxes
for 1982, even if it's income rose with inflation to $21,209.
o A $15,000 a year family in 1981 earning almost $1000 more in
1982, would have paid $24 less despite the higher earnings.
o Without the Reagan cuts, the 1982 tax bill for the $20,000
family would have been $228 higher; for the $15,000 family,
it would have been $151 higher. What's fair about that?
o Repealing the 3rd year, or indexing would be unfair -- imposing
the heaviest burden on people in the lower tax brackets.
o In fact, the rich got their biggest tax cut right away, with
the lowering of the top rate from 70 percent to 50 percent.
(President Reagan proposed a 3-year phase down but Congress
amended his plan to cut the top rate all at once.)
o It would be unfair now to deny to middle and lower-income tax-
payers the rest of the tax cut coming to them. Repeal would
amount to a tax increase of almost 25 percent over the next 5
years for people in the $10,000 income range -- and over a 17
percent tax increase for families earning $50,000 or less.
o In short, repeal of indexing and the 3rd tax cut installment
would mean a $3500 tax increase for the average taxpayer
through 1988.
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INFLATION, INTEREST RATES AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
Key points:
* In 1979, growth stopped in America.
* Policies of tax and spend helped stall the growth that began
after the 1974-75 recession and brought economic expansion to a
dead halt.
* 1979 was also the year poverty started to rise in America,
after almost uninterrupted annual improvement since 1949. It
was the year interest rates and inflation hit double-digits,
and it was the year unemployment stopped falling and started
the rise that lasted until the start of 1983.
* Uncontrolled federal spending and runaway taxation caused or
worsened these and other economic problems President Reagan
inherited.
GNP growth
o At the end of 1982, real GNP was practically the same as it had
been at the beginning of 1979. (Some quarterly ups and downs,
but the overall 4-year fact of the matter was no growth.)
o About 15 months after the President's program for economic
recovery took effect, solid growth started up again. The econ-
omy grew 2.5 percent in the 1st 3 months of 1983 and most
economists agree growth will continue or even accelerate.
Inflation
o In 1979, inflation was 13.3 percent. In 1980, it was 12.4 per-
cent -- the 1st time since WWI it stayed in double-digits two
straight years.
o This really hurt the poor. A poor family's fixed, $5000-a-year
income at the start of 1979 was worth less than $4000 by the
end of 1980. In just two years, high inflation robbed the fam-
ily of over $1000.
o Those two consecutive years of double-digit inflation lowered
the value of a $10,000 income by $2000; a $15,000 income lost
$3000 in value; $20,000 income lost $4000; and a $30,000 income
was worth $6000 less because high inflation erodes the dollar's
purchasing power.
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o A dollar saved at the start of 1979 was worth less than 80
cents by the end of 1980.
o Inflation had been under 5 percent as recently as 1976.
o In contrast, there was virtually no inflation in the 6 months
ending in April. (To be precise, it was 8/10s of one percent.)
o For the 12 months through May, inflation was only 3.5 per-
cent. Since November, the 12 month inflation rate has been
below 4 percent for the first time in 10 years.
o The last time inflation was that low, wage and price controls
held it down artificially. This time, if Congress will help us
to follow policies of fiscal and monetary restraint., we can
keep inflation down for real.
Interest rates
o In 1976, the prime rate was under 7 percent. By the end of
1980, it had risen to record levels -- just as inflation had --
boosted by tax and spend fiscal policies.
o Just before the Reagan inaugural, the prime peaked at 21.5 per-
cent -- the highest since the Civil War.
o It rose almost 15 points in four years from 1977-80. In the
little more than two years since, the prime has fallen more
than 2/3s of the way back -- a full 11 points to 10.5 percent.
o Mortgage rates have dropped six points in the last 18 months.
o Short-term rates (e.g. 90 day T-bills) are half their peak.
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BUDGET FAIRNESS
(Unfairness charges are unfair)
Key points:
* Before the Reagan reforms, $2 of every $5 in benefits intended
for low-income people went to those well above the poverty
line.
* Pre-reform, millions of families making around $14,000 got no
assistance from the federal government but millions of others,
making that much or more, got $20 billion in benefits. That
wasn't fair.
* Even if all the additional reforms in the 1984 budget request
are adopted, the federal government will spend more than
$2 trillion on entitlement programs in the next 5 years. That
is almost half a trillion more than is planned for defense.
Background
o The problem President Reagan set out to solve was not that
government was doing too much for the needy, but that it was
doing too much for the non-needy.
o Also, some of the programs to help the poor had the effect of
keeping them poor, and dependent on government.
o During the recession (which started before the Reagan budget
took effect) budget cuts and program reforms were an easy tar-
get for partisan critics. It was recession that was hurting --
but they blamed the program.
Social programs were unfair before the reforms, more fair after
o In 1981, before the Reagan reforms, $2 out of every $5 in
benefits designed for the poor went to people who not only were
not poor but actually made close to (in many cases, more than)
the median earned income for all working Americans.
o 42 percent of the total benefit dollars from these programs
went to households which, when that aid is considered, had
incomes above 150 percent of the poverty line -- that was about
$14,000 in 1981. The median earned income for all working
people that year wasn't much more -- about $15,000.
o There were millions of families in 1981 making around $14,000 a
year who received no means-tested federal benefits at all.
(These include programs such as food stamps, AFDC, Medicaid.)
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There were other millions making that much or more who did get
assistance ($20 billion worth that year). That wasn't fair.
Unfairness charge doesn't hold up
0 Some critics claim any cut, in any program, is unfair. To hold
this view, they must believe that all benefits from programs to
help low-income families actually go to the poor. As we know,
$2 of every $5 in AFDC, food stamp, Medicaid, SSI, school lunch
and subsidized housing benefits in 1981 went to the non-poor.
Historical perspective on social spending
o If no more reforms are adopted, the federal government will
spend over $2.1 trillion on entitlement programs that transfer
cash to individuals in the next 5 years.
o Even if additional reforms in the President's 1984 budget
request are adopted, the federal government will spend over
$2 trillion on these programs in the next 5 years.
o The Reagan budget request for 1984 would have the federal gov-
ernment spending 3 times what it spent in 1970 -- in real terms
-- on assistance to the poor means-tested entitlements).
o The 1984 request for spending on the poor (for means-tested
entitlements) would reduce the previous Administration's
request by less than 5 percent in real terms.
o There have been cuts, but they've hardly been draconian as
critics charge.
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FOOD STAMPS AND OTHER NUTRITION PROGRAMS
o Spending for the Food Stamp program this year (FY83) is $3.5
billion higher than in 1980.
o Over 2.5 million more people are getting benefits than in 1980
which was a recession year. (19.3 million then versus 22
million now -- the highest number of recipients ever.)
o The only "cuts" have come from program reforms designed to make
sure benefits go to those who are needy -- and not. to those who
aren't.
o Average benefits have risen faster than inflation since 1980,
and reforms have made it possible to remove some 875,000 non-
needy from the rolls.
o Though program spending has grown almost 45 percent since 1980,
spending growth has been cut. Without the reforms, it would
have grown about 65 percent -- another $1.5 billion.
o Proposed cuts for FY84 will total close to $800 million from:
-- substantial caseload reductions as recovery puts people
back to work;
-- efforts to reduce waste and fraud, estimated to cost up to
$1 billion a year.
-- a work experience program to help recipients become more
self-sufficient.
School lunches
0 10 million low-income children are getting free lunches --
about a half-million more than projected in the prior Admin-
istration's budget.
o Before the Reagan reforms, large portions of the school lunch
budget were going to subsidize reduced price lunches for middle
and upper-income students.
o The reforms have drastically cut back these subsidies. (They've
been cut back for families making roughly twice the poverty
level or more.)
o As a result, more needy kids are getting free lunches and fewer
affluent children are getting cut-rate lunches at taxpayer
expense.
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WELFARE -- REAGAN REFORMS ARE WORKING
o Welfare reforms passed in 1981 were designed to lower costs,
maintain the safety net and reduce dependency on government
assistance for welfare families.
o A recently published study shows these objectives have been met
and that critics of the reforms -- who said they would drive
the working poor to quit their jobs and go on welfare -- were
wrong.
o The reforms lowered the income level at which working families
could qualify for AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children).
o Prior to reform, in at least 18 states, families with incomes
as high or higher than half the workers in the country could
qualify for welfare. (1981 median income for all workers was
about $15,000.)
o The welfare reforms saved about $1 billion in federal outlays
and nearly as much for the states. (Since reform, 22 states
have increased benefits for needy recipients, putting the money
saved to good use.)
o Contrary to critics' predictions, people who lost welfare
benefits did not quit their jobs to go back on welfare in any
greater proportion than before the reforms -- because most
would prefer to work than live off government. The reforms
strengthened incentives for them to do so.
o About 15 percent left their jobs after the reforms -- the same
percentage as did before the reforms.
o The benefits for the.truly needy remain in place, with AFDC
benefits actually up in many states.
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THE SAFETY NET
o Safety net spending in next year's budget is up $14.7 billion
since 1981 -- almost 20 percent higher.
o Actual cash and medical assistance to the needy is also up and
the number of people served by programs such as Medicaid, AFDC
and SSI has increased by a half million.
o The poor are hurt most by high inflation -- and helped most
when it is under control.
o The average AFDC family's benefit in the 1970s increased by
over one-third but high inflation in that decade eroded its
purchasing power so they could buy a third less at the end of
the decade than they could at the start even though the family
had more money.
o In contrast now, a poor family totally dependent on AFDC, food
stamps and Medicaid has $400 more purchasing power than if
inflation were still at 1980 rates.
o Overall, even if reforms proposed for 1984 are enacted, spend-
ing on low-income assistance programs for the poor will be
three times greater than in 1970.
o The charge is made that the Reagan reforms have cut massive
numbers from the rolls of safety-net programs. The fact is:
-- There will be 500,000 more Medicaid beneficiaries in 1984
than in 1980;
-- Food Stamps are benefitting over 2.5 million more people
now, than in 1980;
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o The civilian unemployment rate fell 0.7 percentage points in
the first five months of 1983.
o A recovering economy created nearly 800,000 jobs in those five
months -- almost 374,000 in May alone.
The unemployment rate rose more or less steadily (with monthly
fluctuations) from late 1979 on. That trend is reversed and
(also with monthly fluctuations) it should decline more or less
steadily from now on.
o Three times in the last 15 years, inflationary surges have been
followed by increasing unemployment.
o The record unemployment levels of 1982 fit this pattern. They
came in the wake of the record inflation rates of 1979-80.
o Past patterns suggest that if inflation stays down, unemploy-
ment will keep coming down. But a turn-around in policy --
back to tax and spend -- will turn the inflation rate around
and rising unemployment would be sure to follow.
o The Administration expects growth to create up to 5 million new
jobs by the end of next year. A rise of over 3/4s of a million
in total employment in the first five months of 1983 is a good
start toward that goal.
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o During most of the 70s, a cost-price squeeze put a heavy burden
on many farmers -- and as the decade wore on, rising taxes and
runaway federal spending only made the problem worse.
o In just the two~e30s 1979 n1980, aal5epercentuatyear
costs rose almos percent - c
average.
o By contrast, as overall inflation has come down, so has infla-
tion on the farm. In 1982, farm costs rose only 2 percent.
o High interest rates have also hurt farmers -- but every one
percent drop in average interest rates on farm debt means net
farm income goes up $2 billion.
o The President's decontrol decision has led to lower prices for
diesel fuel and gasoline -- a big boost to farmers.
o President Reagan ended the grain embargo -- which hurt American
farmers and left the Soviets free to buy more grain than ever
-- but to buy it from non-U.S. sources.
o Extensions of the long-term grain agreement with the Soviet
Union have started to put the American farmer back in the
business of supplying their market. On June 2, talks began
with the Soviets on negotiating a new long-term agreement.
mum. o USDA has worked to keep farm foreclosures to a minimu lenMost.
foreclosures are not by the government but by p
o Only about half of all American farmers have mortgage loans to
pay off and of these, only 1 in 8 -- about 270,000 -- are owed
to the government. Perhaps 10,000 of these are substantially
behind in their payments and, last year, only 844 were actually
foreclosed on by the Farmers Home Administration.
o President Reagan's tax rate reductions have helped farmers as
they have helped all business operators. Virtual elimination
of the estate tax has been of particular help -- making it
possible to keep the family farm in the family.
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OLDER AMERICANS
Key points:
* Social Security benefits have risen under President Reagan, by
about $100 a month for an average retired couple.
* Lower inflation gives a retired person's private pension
benefits about $1100 more in purchasing power than if inflation
were still at 1980 rates.
* The President's budget request for fiscal 1984 provides an
average of $17,060 for every elderly couple in America.
Background
o When President Reagan took office, older Americans were being
hurt by high inflation and threatened with the prospect of
collapse of the Social Security system.
o Inflation's been lowered and the Social,Security system saved
because of the President's leadership.
Social Security
o The President's critics made the issue a political football,
and many denied that the system was close to bankruptcy.
o But, last November, the retirement trust fund had insufficient
funds to back up retirement checks and it had to borrow a total
of $17 billion until reform legislation could be implemented.
o The Social Security Amendments of 1983 were signed into law on
April 20th. This brought to an end two years of effort by the
President to fashion a solution that could protect benefits and
assure the solvency of the system.
o President Reagan's leadership in creating a bipartisan commis-
sion with appointments by the President, Speaker O'Neil, and
majority leader Baker led to compromise legislation which
passed early in the 98th Congress.
o Many sceptics predicted the partisan impasse would continue and
dismissed the Commission approach as doomed to failure.
o It worked, though, and unlike the last Social Security rescue.
plan -- passed in 1977 -- the one that emerged from the
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Commission's work is expected to last.
o That 1977 plan imposed both the largest peacetime tax increase
in history and the largest benefit cuts Social Security had
ever seen. (The average 65-year-old who retired last year will
get over $4000 less in benefits through 1985 because of the
1977 changes.)
o The previous Administration said these 1977 Amendments would
ensure the system's solvency through the year 2030 but 5 years
after their enactment, last November, the retirement fund had
to borrow to cover its checks.
o Political charges aside, the fact is that during the Reagan
presidency, Social Security benefits have risen by about $70 a
month for the average beneficiary and $100 a month for the
average retired couple.
Other programs for the elderly
o Overall, federal support for the elderly will average $8530 per
individual in fiscal 1984 -- $17,060 per couple.
0 27.6 percent of all federal spending will go to the elderly, a
total of $234 billion.
o That's an increase of 7 percent and $15.5 billion over the
current year -- fiscal 1983.
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WOMEN AND THE REAGAN ADMINISTRATION
o There are 3 women in the Reagan cabinet, more at any one time
than in any other Administration in history.
o The President selected more women for full-time top policy mak-
ing positions in his first two years in office than any of his
predecessors. By the end of January, he had selected 94 women,
compared to only 76 appointed by the previous Administration in
its first two years.
o All told, President Reagan has selected women for more than
1000 important positions in the White House and throughout the
Executive Branch. (165 for Senior Executive Service, almost
500 in GS-13 or above schedule C positions, and 325 for part-
time presidential advisory boards.)
o In addition, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is the first woman on
the Supreme Court and Jeane Kirkpatrick the first woman to
serve as Ambassador to the U.N. with Cabinet rank.
o Women head the Departments of Transportation (Elizabeth Dole),
and HHS (Margaret Heckler), the Peace Corps (Loret Ruppe), the
Consumer Product Safety Commission (Nancy Steorts), the U.S.
Postal Rate Commission (Janet Steiger), and the Federal Labor
Relations Authority (Barbara Mahone).
Policy changes
o Many provisions of law which discriminated against women have
been reformed through Reagan policy and initiatives.
o The so-called marriage penalty has been greatly reduced --
saving two-earner couples about $300 a year (when each makes
about $15,000).
o The tax credit for child care has been raised from $400 for one
child of a working mother to a maximum of $720.
o Toughened child support enforcement produced $170 million in
1982 alone from fathers who abandoned welfare families.
o Rules governing individual retirement accounts (IRAs) have been
liberalized to allow larger contributions by women who work
outside the home and also for homemakers with no earned income.
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CHILDREN
o Spending in the fiscal '84 budget for 10 key programs for needy
children is 25 percent above 1980 levels -- up from $17.4 bil-
lion to $21.7 billion.
o Aid to Families with Dependent Children -- the primary welfare
progz'am -- serves one in eight American children.
o Medicaid -- providing health care to the poor -- serves one
American child in six. The 1984 budget provides $2.8 billion,
close to $1 billion more than in 1980, to serve 10.5 million
children.
o Head Start funding in fiscal 1984 will be up 30 percent from
1980 levels and almost 50,000 more children will be served --
up 13 percent from 1980 to about 425,000 children.
o School lunches are being provided free to about 10 million
low-income students -- about half a million more than the
previous Administration's budget provided.
o Immunization rates are up. In 1980, it was estimated that as
few as 91 percent of children entering school were immunized.
For 1984, the range will be 95-97 percent.
o Infant mortality also continues to decline in the United
States. The rate dropped from 12.5 per 1000 live births in
1980 to 11.7 in 1981 and dropped further, to 11.2 in 1982.
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CIVIL RIGHTS
o Sad legacy of discrimination is well-known and, under President
Reagan, the Administration is working hard to enforce laws
against discrimination.
o All Americans enjoy the right to be free from unlawful discri-
mine.tion and to be judged and given opportunity on the basis of
merit -- not pre-judged and denied opportunity on grounds of
race, national origin, or sex.
o The President hsa proposed to continue the Civil Rights Commis-
sion in existence for 20 years.
Criminal violations
o The Reagan Administration has filed 104 new cases charging
violations of federal criminal civil rights laws and 79 trials
have been conducted -- more activity than in any prior
Administration.
o For example, Joseph Paul Franklin was brought to trial and
though not convicted of shooting civil rights leaders Vernon
Jordan, he was convicted of killing two black joggers.
Voting Rights
o The right to vote, says President Reagan, is "the most sacred
right of free men and women."
o He signed into law the longest extension of the Voting Rights
Act in its history -- and the Civil Rights Division at the
Justice Department has conducted reviews of requests for
changes in voting laws at a record pace.
o More than 21,000 such reviews have been conducted since the
start of this Administration.
o The Division initiated 25 new cases to assure minority voting
rights and has participated in a total of 48 such cases.
Equal employment opportunity
o The EEOC has recovered record amounts of back-pay and other
compensation for victims of employment discrimination. Over
$130 million was recovered in 1982 -- almost twice the amount
obtained in legal and administrative settlements in 1980.
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CRIME
o Serious crime dropped 4% in 1982 compared to 1981, the first
annual decrease in the crime rate since 1977.
o The drop in crime in a recession year confounds many "experts"
who think economic hardship causes crime. On the contrary, the
drop may be evidence that a firmer law enforcement stand --
like this Administration has taken -- does act as a deterrent
to crime.
o Administration anti-crime initiatives already in place include:
a new national strategy to cripple organized crime and drug
trafficking; twelve inter-agency crime task forces in key
regions of the country; and a new National Center for State and
Local Law Enforcement training.
o The twelve inter-agency task forces are patterned after the
very successful South Florida task force effort, which dras-
tically reduced violent crime and the flow of drugs into
that area.
o To ensure that criminals are put and kept behind bars, the
President proposed a major reform of the Federal criminal laws
-- the "Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1983." Included in
this legislation are proposals to toughen bail, standardize
sentencing, change the insanity defense, and tighten narcotics
enforcement provisions.
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EDUCATION
o Total federal student aid made available by Education Depart-
ment programs has increased from $8.5 billion in 1980 to $10.8
billion in 1983.
o Black students comprise about 10 percent of the higher educa-
tion student population -- but get about 30 percent. of student
aid.
o The fiscal 1984 request for funding for handicapped through
state grant programs -- $1 billion -- would be the highest
funding level ever.
o Tuition tax credits -- and the voucher proposal -- are a matter
of basic fairness. They will give low and middle-income
parents some of the same freedom to choose where they want
their children to be educated that affluent parents now enjoy.
o This Administration showed the courage to confront the number
one educational problem of the '80s, declining quality of
learning in our schools.
o A national Commission was appointed to look at the national
problem and the report it issued has prompted a national
debate.
o Federal spending for education has increased over twenty-fold
since 1960 -- the period for which the Commission on Educa-
tional Excellence notes a marked decline in the performance of
America's schools.
o Commission recommends longer hours of school, more homework,
stress on basics, merit pay for the best teachers and higher
pay for all.
o The Ford Foundation identified recently (and 4/25 Time magazine
reported on) several public schools doing an outstanding job --
mainly because of strong principals, dedicated teachers, stress
on basics -- whether or not they had more money.
o Time pointed out one inner-city school was drawing students
from private schools -- showing public schools can compete.
o No federal program can make this kind of performance happen,
but federal leadership can encourage it; local leadership can
demand it.
o National Education Association statistics show public school
spending overall rose nearly 7% this past school year -- and
per pupil expenditures were up almost 10%.
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ENERGY
Key points:
* Gasoline prices fell a dime a gallon last year, proving decon-
trol critics wrong.
* Decontrol helped break OPEC's grip on the oil market and in-
increased energy independence of the U.S.
* Free market works with oil -- can also work with natural gas.
Background
o On January 28, 1981, President Reagan ordered immediate decon-
trol of petroleum prices as one of his first official acts.
o Since then, the price of gasoline to consumers has declined
substantially.
o In fact, the price of gasoline went down a dime a gallon in
198.2 and fell another nickel by March of 1983 -- the first
annual drop in 10 years and the largest price drop ever.
o Even with the additional nickel-a-gallon tax that went into
effect April 1st, average gas prices are below what they were
-- in real terms -- before decontrol. Prices consumers pay for
heating oil have also dropped.
o Critics had argued that decontrol would lead to much higher
prices. Senator Kennedy, for example, predicted a "new surge
of inflation," and Senator Metzenbaum predicted "2.00 a gallon
gasoline prices by the end of 1981."
o After a brief upward spurt in the weeks right after decontrol,
however, the price drop began as the President predicted.
Some say the price drop results from OPEC disarray and not from
decontrol. But respected oil industry analyst Dan Lundberg
credits the disarray in OPEC to President Reagan's decontrol
decision.
o Price controls, Lundberg says, "held down our production at
artificially low prices ... subsidizing the OPEC nations, pro-
viding the underpinnings for their cartel."
o President Reagan's decontrol, Lundberg adds, "terminated a USA
quasi-cartel, kicking away the underpinnings of OPEC's pseudo-
cartel, and he did it with his free market philosophy ..."
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THE ENVIRONMENT
o President Reagan totally supports strong enforcement of the
Nation's environmental protection laws. The President's choice
of William Ruckelshaus to head EPA -- the agency's first
Administrator and a dedicated public servant -- demonstrates
that support.
o When swearing-in Ruckelshaus, the President asked him to pay
special attention to several areas of concern -- acid rain and
its impact on lakes and forests, Superfund implementation to
clean-up hazardous dumps, and the need to provide leadership to
State and local governments in environmental protection.
Toxic Waste Clean-Up
o The Reagan Administration has implemented an effective program
to manage hazardous waste.
o The President's 1984 budget proposed $310 million for Super-
fund, the program to clean-up abandoned hazardous waste sites
and for responding to hazardous chemical spills. This repre-
sents a $100 million increase over 1983 and equals :25% of EPA's
budget.
o In 1984, EPA will initiate remedial actions at 55 new sites, an
increase of 37% over 1983. Some $95 million will be awarded
for State actions, an increase of 98% over 1983.
o Under this Administration, the Superfund program has already:
- Published a priority list of 419 sites for clean-up;
- Funded 69 hazardous-waste sites for long-term remedial
action;
- Initiated 128 emergency actions involving hazardous materials
and completed 106 of them; and
- Negotiai.ed privately-funded clean-ups at 43 hazardous waste
sites worth $151 million.
Clean Water
o Implementation of the Clean Water Act under the Reagan.Admin-
istration has resulted in cleaner water than ever before.
o For the first time in the history of the Clean Water Act, EPA
under the Reagan Administration is on schedule in issuing
guidelines.
o The Reagan EPA has published 19 toxic removal guidelines. Only
one such rule had ever been published prior to 1981. This will
reduce toxic chemicals discharged directly into the nation's
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waterways by 96%.
o In 1982, municipal wastewater compliance increased from 79% to
87%. Compliance by industry increased from 82% to 85%.
Clean Air
o The Reagan Administration has consistently supported maintain-
ing clean air standards. EPA has accomplished a notable degree
of improvement in air quality through a three part strategy.
o Gaining voluntary clean-up wherever possible. Compliance under
the Clean Air Act is now up to 97.3%.
o Processing time for State plan revisions has been reduced from
14 months to 6 months and a 1981 backlog of over 1000 proposals
has been reduced by 97%.
o Using the full force of civil and criminal litigation where
needed. Administration orders for air enforcement will triple
between 1981 and 1983 (65-190). The EPA air enforcement budget
remains steady in 1984 at $20.7 million, up from $20.5 million
in 1983.
Clean, Safe Parks and Wildlife Refuges
o Cleaning up our national parks and wildlife refuges is an
Administration priority.
o To help restore the nation's national parks and wildlife
refuges, the Administration created the five-year, $1 billion
Park Restoration and Improvement Program and moved to rehabili-
tate deteriorating facilities at national refuges.
The Administration has successfully urged Congress to include
188 Atlantic and Gulf Coast areas in the Coastal Barrier
Resources, Act and is working with a State/private sector task
force to encourage similar protection for wetlands.
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o Administration health policy is designed to keep affordable,
quality health care available to all Americans.
o The quality is there, but health care cost inflation is running
three times the overall inflation rate -- and threatening its
affordability, especially for elderly and low-income people.
o Costs to the taxpayer also soar. Medicaid and Medicare have
been the fastest growing part of the federal budget over the
last 10 years -- rising 600 percent, to $64 billion, in 1982.
o One major Administration Medicare reform to help control hospi-
tal costs has already been adopted. Called prospective pay-
ment, the reform creates incentives for hospitals to avoid
excessive patient care costs without jeopardizing the quality
of care.
o Through another proposed Medicare reform, the elderly would be
protected -- for the first time ever -- against the catastro-
phic costs of a long hospital stay.
o Now, the cost to a Medicare patient for a 150 day stay in the
hospital is $13,475 -- and the patient has to pay all hospital
costs for every day over 150. This can add tens of thousands
of dollars to the patient's bill.
o Under the President's reform proposal, a Medicare patient would
not have to pay more than $1530 -- no matter how long the stay.
o While a patient's share of costs for a short hospitalization
would rise -- an average of $28 a day -- older poor people who
couldn't afford to pay could have their share paid for by Medi-
caid. An extra $47 million has been budgeted for this in 1984.
o Overall, 49 million elderly, poor and disabled citizens -- 1 of
every 5 Americans -- will have health care needs met through
Medicare and Medicaid in 1984. That's a million more than this
year and 3 million more than in 1980.
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THEN AND NOW: TWO YEARS OF PROGRESS
(1980 vs. the present
Inflation
Then -- 12.4% for the year 1980; was 13.3% in 1979.
Now -- 3.5% over 12 months ending May 1983, cut by 2/3s
under President Reagan.
Interest Rates
Then -- The prime hit 21.5% at the end of 1980.
Now -- The prime is at 10.5%, cut in half in two years.
Then -- 90 day Treasury bills brought 17% interest.
Now -- Interest on T-bills is 8.1%, also down about half.
Mortgage Rates
Then -- They were climbing; FHA on the way to 17-18% range.
Now -- They're falling; at present 12%, the monthly cost of
a $50,000 mortgage is over $200 less than at peak
rates of last year.
Housing Starts
Then -- In 3 year slump, starts down and falling further.
Now -- Start rate up, running at solid 1.6 million annual
rate for 1st five months of 1983.
Federal Spending Growth
Then --'Growth rate was over 17% by 1980.
Now -- Spending will grow by less than two-thirds that
rate -- about 11% -- this fiscal year (FY83) and by
about 5 percent in fiscal 1984.
Federal Income Tax (family of four, median income of $29,300)
Then -- Under old tax law, typical family would pay $3766.
Now -- Lower tax rates cut tax to $3049 -- $717 less.
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Energy Security
Then -- Net U.S. energy imports were the equivalent of
almost 6 million barrels per day.
Now -- Net imports are down to just over 3 million.
Gasoline Prices
Then -- Decontrol critics predicted $2.00 a gallon gas once
controls were lifted.
Now -- Price fell about 10 cents a gallon in 1982; first
drop in ten years, steepest ever. Real price lower
now than just before decontrol.
Regulatory Relief
Then -- Paperwork took estimated 1.5 billion in manhours.
Now -- Regulatory relief cuts burden by over 300 million.
Then -- The Federal Register averaged 7251 pages a month.
Now -- It's down a third, to under 4875 pages a month.*
Military Re-enlistment Rates
Then -- Rate was 55%, and the military was losing a valuable
pool of experienced manpower.
Now -- Re-enlistment rate, at 68%, is the highest since 1964
and is evidence of overall improvement in morale.
Nuclear Arms Reductions
Then -- Senate was rejecting flawed SALT II treaty.
Now -- Serious talks with Soviets on mutual cuts, not just
limits.
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